5 Places in Auckland to Drink Great Beer on your Campervan Rental Holiday

Important Note: Do Not Drink and Drive anywhere in New Zealand or any other Country! This article only suggests places you could visit while you are not driving your Camper!

Craft beer is creeping its way into Auckland quickly these days. As bars begin to shy away from the standard bottles, more and more interesting brews are showing up on the taps. With a culture that is thriving on both coasts of the US and in many other trendy cities around the world, the beer scene is finding its place in this city too. Take a break from the campervan and spend some time in Auckland trying out these 5 places to drink great beer.

The tasting room isn’t much but their selection of draft beer is quite impressive. Their beer is brewed in Auckland so you can experience a real New Zealand beer right from the source. It’s not quite a brew pub but you can order a pizza and lounge around with your travel partner. If you want to talk beer with the man behind the taps, this is a good place to do it.

Hopscotch

While it’s not technically a bar, this place may be more passionate about beer than any of them. Looking like a garage-brewery hybrid, Hopscotch offers 30 beers on draft and even more in bottles and cans. These guys know beer and you can find New Zealand brews from all over the country as well as imports from the US (particularly California) and England. Since you won’t find any bar stools here, you can come in and taste test the taps before buying a take away bottle of the one you liked best.

This traditional brewpub stands out like a sore thumb in all of the best ways possible. It’s dark, cozy and has a huge selection on draft and cask of their very own beers. Many of them are German inspired and some are quite high in percentage and hops content. They have a beer garden around the back and glass windows on the brewery so that you can take a look at what’s going on inside.

Shakespeare Hotel And Brewery

Located in the downtown area, this place is meant to be a bit of an institution in Auckland. It is said to be the first microbrewery in the city and has an interior that does in fact feel and look a bit historic. While one or two of the taps will feature their own beer, many of them are from other breweries around the country.

Vulture’s Lane

This one sits on the popular Vulcan Lane within the city center and offers some of the best craft beer in the area. It beats out the Belgian Beer Bar with its interesting tap selection and bottle collections. There are New Zealand beers, some imports and many brews with unique flavors (think Pumpkin!) They act like a brew pub and have a pretty delicious food menu to pair with the beer.

Throw yourself into the scene to see what everyone is talking about. Be one of the first ones to check out Auckland’s craft beer scene before it explodes!